Senators coach Craig Hartsburg has opened the door for a goaltending controversy.

While he maintained Martin Gerber is still the No. 1 goaltender, Hartsburg told reporters this morning that if Alex Auld plays well tomorrow against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Place, then he could start Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Battle of Ontario.

Responding to questions from Sun Media during his daily press conference following a 40-minute skate today, Hartsburg admitted the club needs one of its goalies to step up and make some big saves after dropping a 3-1 decison to the Florida Panthers Wednesday at home.

Asked how much a big save or two from the goaltender would help, Hartsburg was quick to respond.

“No question. I’m not going to sit here and deny that. It’s very important that we get big saves at the right time in the game,” said Hartsburg.

The biggest concern is the early goals he's giving up.

“(Gerber) makes a lot of saves in the game, but you leave every night thinking ‘Could have had that one and should have had that one.’ We’re early in this, but we’re starting to see trends and that’s something we have to address with Martin. Alex will play tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”